A fire at the Grenfell Tower in London on Wednesday may have killed a hundred people:
As the confirmed death toll rose to 30, there were reportedly as many as 70 people unaccounted for since the blaze, which police fear was so devastating that some victims may never be identified. The official number of deaths has sparked anger and confusion within the local community, where people believe the true number is considerably higher. — Guardian
Labour Party leader James Corbyn visited the site on Thursday, meeting with survivors and comforting those searching for loved ones.
After his visit, Corbyn discussed housing survivors in luxury apartments nearby. The neighborhood is one of the wealthiest in London, with many apartments owned by foreign buyers which sit unoccupied for most of the year. Corbyn had earlier said that austerity cuts for public housing and Conservatives’ failure to update safety regulations might be partially responsible for the fire.
As if those criticisms weren’t bad enough, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May compounded the crisis by failing to meet with survivors when she visited the site on Thursday as well. She opted to survey the location with first responders.
May was almost immediately excoriated by the UK papers for the stark contrast with Corbyn’s visit:
In contrast, Corbyn was lauded by the press and survivors for his visit. The Independent quoted one resident saying “he’s one of us”. The criticism got to be so bad that PM May returned on Friday to visit survivors at a church being used as a shelter. As she left that visit escorted by police, she was heckled by protesters who shouted “shame on you” and “coward”.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, Queen Elizabeth and Prince William who also visited the site, did meet survivors.
In 2009, a fire at a public housing complex in South-East London killed six people, including three children. An investigation found the local authorities failed to maintain the building up to fire code.
We had a diary yesterday that chronicled the repeated attempts by residents at Grenfell Towers to have management fix sprinklers, fire alarms and other equipment in the building.
— Cross-posted from NotMeUs.org and TheProgressiveWing.com | @subirgrewal